Children&#39;s footwear



' Oct. 31, 1967 s. c. LOPEZ CHILDREN'S FOOTWEAR Filed Oct. 28, 1966United States Patent Ofiice Patented Oct. 31, 1967 3,349,505 CHILDRENSFOOTWEAR Segundo C. Lopez, San Fernando 423, Villena, Aiicante, SpainFiled Oct. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 590,403 Claims priority, appliclationyspain, Dec. 11, 1965, 8 01 6 Claims. 36-25) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSUREIt is a well known fact that it is often diflicult to put on footwearhaving extended uppers, whether these be in the form of bootees orboots. It is particularly difficult to put on ankle boots in the case ofa child whose foot is deformed.

Hitherto in an attempt to avoid this disadvantage, footwear has beenproduced with a large longitudinal aperture in the vamp. It is, however,not always possible to provide this aperture and in any case it cannotbe made over-large without causing the article to lose its shape, whichwould result in the article no longer fulfilling one of its mainfunctions, viz. to avoid or correct those deformations which are theresult of wearing bad footwear.

The invention therefore has for an object an article of footwear havingan extended upper, such as a bootee or boot which obviates or minimizesthe abovementioned disadvantage and which may be opened completely whenbeing fitted on to the foot without this being in any way detrimental toits shape.

According to the invention, the article is provided with a transverseaperture in the upper, said aperture extending from the upper edge ofone of the sides, preferably the outer side, as far as the other sideand continuing through the part of the sole located between the sole ofthe foot and the heel.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention which is particularlyapplicable to childrens shoes, the shoe is based on a one-piece patternand including the portion which forms the sole of the foot, under whichit is possible to locate a sole-piece. The pattern has a rounded seam atthe part forming the toe, thus effecting a substantial saving inmaterial.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, referencewill now be made to the accompanying drawings, which show one embodimentthereof, by way of example, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the outside of an ankle boot of theinvention,

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the inside thereof, and

FIGURE 3 is a view of the boot when opened.

Referring now to the drawings, the ankle-boot shown in FIGURES 1 to 3comprises a single piece 1 which is cut to shape with a seam along theupper edge of the shoe upper 1a and with a rounded seam 2 at the partforming the toe, thus avoiding any wastage of material.

A transverse aperture, provided with a sliding-clasp fastener 3, extendsfrom the upper edge of the upper 1a of the boot on the outsideapproximately half-way up the other side, i.e. the inside, of the upper.This transverse aperture continues through the part of the sole locatedbetween the sole of the foot and the heel. Thus, when the fastener isopen (FIGURE 3), the boot is prac' tically divided into two parts, thefront and the rear, thus greatly simplifying the fitting of the boot onto the foot, even when the foot is in some way deformed.

The importance of this transverse aperture which divides the boot intotwo parts is obvious, since the fitting of the boot on to the foot isgreatly simplified, but it should be noted that it will advantageouslybe used whenever it is desired to make shoes or boots from a singlepiece of material with a rounded seam at the part forming the toe.

Finally, if the ankle-boot is intended for use as a walking shoe, itwill also be advantageous to locate treadpieces respectively on the soleof the foot and the heel. These tread-pieces have been showndiagrammatically in chain-dotted lines at 4 and 5 respectively in FIGURE1.

The shape, material used and the size of the boot may, of course, varywidely, as may the accessories.

I claim:

1. A footwear article comprising a toe portion, a heel portion, aportion having a leg receiving opening, at least one of said portionshaving a substantially transverse aperture extending from a point on oneside of said footwear spaced from the edge of said leg receivingopening, downwardly along said side, across the bottom thereof betweensaid toe and heel portions and upwardly along the opposite side thereofto said leg receiving opening, and means for fastening the sectionsprovided by said substantially transverse aperture, together.

2. A footwear article according to claim 1, wherein the footwear isformed from a single piece of material and is provided with a roundedseam in said toe portion.

3. A footwear according to claim 5, wherein the undersides of said toeand heel portions are provided with treads.

4. A footwear article according to claim 1, wherein said fastening meanscomprises a sliding clasp fastener.

5. A footwear article according to claim 1, wherein the footwear isformed from a single piece of material which is provided with a roundedscam in said toe portion, and the undersides of said toe and heelportions are provided with trea-ds.

6. A footwear article according to claim 5, wherein said fastening meanscomprises a sliding clasp fastener.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,648,101 11/ 1927 Ascheim3*6--50 2,235,490 3/ 1941 Saksa 36-l 2,494,770 1/ 1950 MacLaughlin 362.52,859,543 11/195 8 Potvin 36-11 FOREIGN PATENTS 451,157 9/ 1927 Germany.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

1. A FOOTWEAR ARTICLE COMPRISING A TOE PORTION, A HEEL PORTION, APORTION HAVING A LEG RECEIVING OPENING, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PORTIONSHAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSE APERTURE EXTENDING FROM A POINT ON ONESIDE OF SAID FOOTWEAR SPACED FROM THE EDGE OF SAID LEG RECEIVINGOPENING, DOWNWARDLY ALONG SAID SIDE, ACROSS THE BOTTOM THEREOF BETWEENSAID TOE AND HEEL PORTIONS AND UPWARDLY ALONG THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOFTO SAID LEG RECEIVING OPENING, AND MEANS FOR FASTENING THE SECTIONSPROVIDED BY SAID SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSE APERTURE, TOGETHER.